What parents can take from this research
Useful challenge is different from unnecessary struggle. Difficulty should serve retrieval and discrimination, not overwhelm the learner.
What the research found
Some learning conditions that make practice feel harder in the short term can improve long-term retention and transfer.
Full citation
Elizabeth L. Bjork & Robert A. Bjork (2011). Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way: creating desirable difficulties to enhance learning. Psychology and the Real World.
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